Alderney Wildlife Trust is appealing for help in a ground-breaking project that will reveal more about the daily lives of the Island's iconic gannets.
Around 8,000 gannet pairs make their way to Ortac and Les Etacs every year and stay there from February to October to breed. But little is known about where the birds, with their huge two metre wingspans, go to forage to feed their young.
In a Channel Islands first, experts plan to attach tiny, solar-powered GPS trackers to the tail feathers of 10 Northern Gannets. The device, which will stay on for around three months, will download the birds' movements via the mobile phone network onto an interactive map. Not only will it provide fascinating new data about the colony, but could help their survival in the future.
Holly Marshall, Alderney Wildlife Trust's People and Wildlife Officer, said: "There are seven wind and three tidal energy projects currently proposed in the English Channel, and we simply don't know what the combined impact of all these developments will be on the regions environment and fisheries. By tracking where Alderney's gannets are feeding now, before any wind or tidal turbines are installed, we will be establishing a 'baseline' understanding of how Alderney's Gannets use Channel waters. From this it should be possible to understand if there is likely to be a significantly impacted from these renewable schemes." She added that gannets were vital for Alderney's economy.
The Guernsey Bereavement Service has made three visits to Alderney over the past few months and would like to continue to help you. We are visiting the island again on
Tuesday, 23rd February 2024 and would invite anyone who feels they would like Bereavement Counselling to telephone the Bereavement Service Office on 257778 to make a time to meet one of our counsellors.
The Guernsey Bereavement Service has made three visits to Alderney over the past few months and would like to continue to help you. We are visiting the island again on
Tuesday, 23rd February 2024 and would invite anyone who feels they would like Bereavement Counselling to telephone the Bereavement Service Office on 257778 to make a time to meet one of our counsellors. 